Australia Shows Much More World Cup Enthusiasm Than New Zealand

More than 80,000 fans will cheer on one of the title contenders when co-host Australia kicks off the tournament in Sydney. In contrast, co-host New Zealand seems to be quite far from sharing this level of excitement. This is indicated by ticket sales figures.

The opening match of the Australian women’s team at the upcoming World Cup is sold out. As confirmed by World Cup CEO Dave Beeche to the AFP news agency, the match between the co-hosts and Ireland on July 20 in Sydney is expected to attract 81,500 spectators. “There is no availability left,” he said.

A few hours earlier, the opening game between New Zealand and Norway will take place in Auckland. According to Beeche, there are still “a few thousand” tickets available for this match. However, the official expects the remaining tickets to be sold before the start of the tournament. “It will be a big day for women’s football,” Beeche said.

Ticket sales in New Zealand are significantly slower than in Australia

According to FIFA, approximately 1.1 million tickets have been sold for the 64 matches in Australia and New Zealand. However, there is a significant disparity: while approximately 830,000 tickets have been sold in Australia, New Zealand has only sold 270,000 tickets.

Gallery: The preliminary German World Cup squad

The German team will enter the tournament on July 24 in Melbourne against Morocco, and will also face Colombia on July 30 and South Korea on August 3 to conclude the group stage.